This invention relates to an optical connector apparatus and, in particular, to an optical connector apparatus capable of interconnecting different connectors having ferrules different in diameter.
As an interface of a SFF (Small Form Factor) transceiver in an optical communication field, use is widely made of a LC connector and a SC connector. The LC and the SC connectors have ferrules different in diameter from each other. Therefore, in order to connect those different connectors, so-called conversion in diameter is required.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2001-194554 discloses a conversion sleeve capable of holding different-diameter ferrules with a predetermined force. Specifically, a SC connector and a LC connector are connected to each other via a LC-SC conversion adapter using a conversion sleeve. However, the number of parts is increased and a connecting operation is troublesome. Furthermore, a connection structure inevitably has a large scale. Therefore, it is often difficult to use the conversion sleeve in a narrow occupation space.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. H5-88043 discloses use of an optical connection adapter for ferrule-diameter conversion. In case where the optical connection adapter of the type is used, two optical center axes can not be aligned at an interface of a two-contact LC connector. Therefore, the optical center axes are displaced and aligned and then connected to a SC connector. However, because a troublesome work of displacing and aligning the optical center axes at the interface of the two-pin LC connector is required, connection requires much time and labor. In addition, it is difficult to simply and properly connect these connectors.